Johannesburg’s water network has stabilised, mainly after a prolonged 54-hour maintenance operation by Rand Water, which temporarily disrupted the supply across parts of the city. The entity says reservoirs are refilling and systems are recovering. However, some areas may still face slower restoration as pressure normalises.
The maintenance, which began on Tuesday, formed the third and final phase of planned work aimed at strengthening the regional water supply system. During this period, Rand Water shut down infrastructure, forcing Johannesburg Water to manage reduced inflows and intermittent outages in several suburbs.
Johannesburg water: Reservoirs return to service
Johannesburg Water confirmed that its systems have recovered and now supply water normally across most affected areas. The utility reported progress at several major reservoirs that support large parts of the city.
In a statement, Johannesburg Water said: “Feed for the Braamfischerville Reservoir [is] back to normal and supplying adequately. Meadowlands Reservoir is also back to normal and supplying fairly.”
These improvements have helped restore supply to surrounding communities that experienced low pressure or temporary interruptions during the shutdown.
The utility added that recovery remains uneven in some zones.
“However, the direct feed has not yet fully recovered as full restoration in certain parts can take longer,” the statement noted.
Areas showing steady improvement
Beyond the northern and western systems, Johannesburg Water reported progress in other supply zones. The Doornkop Reservoir’s direct feed has returned to normal, while the Fleurhof Reservoir is supplying adequately.
The Roodepoort Deep direct feed is also “now supplying normally,” according to the utility.
Monitoring continues after shutdown
Despite the overall recovery, the entity cautioned that the restoration phase does not end with the return of bulk supply. Technical teams remain on standby to manage secondary issues that often follow large-scale shutdowns.
“Johannesburg Water will monitor the restoration phase and attend to airlocks,” the statement concluded.
